Observing Galaxies

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Observing Galaxies with Binoculars in the Spring by Vincent S. Foster
Although galaxies are the most distant objects in the universe, many of them can be observed with simple binoculars. For example, M81 and M82, which are 12 million light years away, can be readily observed in 10x50 binoculars. While most galaxies are telescope objects, there are over 75 galaxies with magnitudes brighter than 10, which are well within binocular range. Nearly all can be observed in the spring. Although the views of these galaxies won’t compare to those in a large Dobsonian telescope, binoculars are much more portable and easier to use. It’s also amazing to consider that you are viewing gigantic objects millions of light years away with a small instrument held …show more content…

One of the best galaxy pairs for binoculars is formed by the M81 and M82 in northern Ursa Major. Both of these galaxies are bright with magnitudes of 6.9 and 8.4 respectively. They lie little more than a moon’s width apart. In the 10x50 binoculars, M81 appears as a small oval nebulosity surrounded by a diffuse halo of much fainter light aligned N-S. M82 is a thin spindle of silvery light in an E-W elongation and measures 11.2’ by 4.6’, which is small in comparison to M81’s impressive dimensions of 25.2’ by 14.1’. Both of these galaxies form the heart of the Ursa Major Galaxy Group, which includes NGC 2403, which lies 14 degree W-SW of the M81-82 pair in the star-poor wastes of western Camelopardalis. NGC 2403 shines at magnitude 8.4 and is quite large measuring 17.8’ by 11.0’. In 10x50 binoculars it appears as a small, bright, elongated core surrounded by a compact elliptical halo. One of the finest galaxies in the spring is the beautiful face-on spiral M101. Spanning 26.9’ by 26.3’, M101’s relatively bright magnitude of 7.7 is so spread out that the galaxy’s surface brightness is extremely low. Unless you are observing under very dark skies, you may not see it, at least not without carefully searching for …show more content…

Nicknamed the Black Eye Galaxy, its magnitude is 8.5 and its dimensions are 9.3’ by 5.4’, which make it visible as an elongated disk. This galaxy is easy to find since its lies just 1 degree E-NE of the 5th magnitude star 35 Comae Berenices. M106 is the best of the three galaxies measuring an enormous 18.2’ by 7.9’. It is a sharply defined spindle elongated SE-NW and immersed in a uniformly bright halo of nebulosity. M106 lies in a rather star-poor field about 4 degrees east of Chi Ursae Majoris, so locating it may be a bit of a challenge. A galaxy pair rivaling M81 and M82 is made up of M65 and M66 which are separated by only 21’ and found about 2.5 degrees S-SE of Theta Leonis in the constellation Leo. M66 is a spiral galaxy measuring 8.7’ by 4.4’ with a magnitude of 9.0. M65 spans some 10.0’ by 3.3’, shines at magnitude 9.3 and is clearly visible as a tiny patch elongated NW-SE. NGC 2903 is a large spiral galaxy found to the west of Epsilon Leonis at the tip of Leo’s sickle. Binoculars display it as a nebulous 5’x3’ patch highlighted by a brighter central

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